I'm not sure that these comments apply to this episode. What I've just watched is available on YouTube, but the opening and closing credits aren't included. The program doesn't seem to match IMDb's credits too well. I'll assume that the comments do in fact apply.
We don't hear nearly as much about Operation Market Garden as we do about, say, El Alamein or Midway. The reason seems simple enough to me. History books, and documentaries, are written by the winners, and Operation Market Garden in the end was a tragic Allied defeat. Tragic not just because of the men lost and captured by the Germans, but tragic because, had it succeeded, it would have unquestionably shortened the war and saved millions of lives on both sides.
The idea behind Market Garden was that the Germans had just been defeated and subjected to wholesale slaughter around Falaise in France. The planners, Eisenhower and Montgomery, imagined that the Germans were demoralized and that instead of the Allies pushing ahead on a broad front, a sharp thrust into the industrial heartland of Germany would bring the war to a quick end.
What followed was an epic effort by Brits, Americans, and Poles. It failed largely because of faulty intelligence, inexplicably poor decisions, a collapse of communications, an unexpectedly speedy German response, and sheer bad luck. (A glider carrying the complete plan of the attack fell into German hands.) A feature film was made about the assault -- "Operation Market Garden" -- directed by Richard Attenborough and featuring many stars of the period. It's not really very informative because the editing is so poor and the script is badly organized.
This episode is far better at establishing events than the feature film. For a thorough and readable description of Market Garden, read the heartbreaking "A Bridge Too Far."
We don't hear nearly as much about Operation Market Garden as we do about, say, El Alamein or Midway. The reason seems simple enough to me. History books, and documentaries, are written by the winners, and Operation Market Garden in the end was a tragic Allied defeat. Tragic not just because of the men lost and captured by the Germans, but tragic because, had it succeeded, it would have unquestionably shortened the war and saved millions of lives on both sides.
The idea behind Market Garden was that the Germans had just been defeated and subjected to wholesale slaughter around Falaise in France. The planners, Eisenhower and Montgomery, imagined that the Germans were demoralized and that instead of the Allies pushing ahead on a broad front, a sharp thrust into the industrial heartland of Germany would bring the war to a quick end.
What followed was an epic effort by Brits, Americans, and Poles. It failed largely because of faulty intelligence, inexplicably poor decisions, a collapse of communications, an unexpectedly speedy German response, and sheer bad luck. (A glider carrying the complete plan of the attack fell into German hands.) A feature film was made about the assault -- "Operation Market Garden" -- directed by Richard Attenborough and featuring many stars of the period. It's not really very informative because the editing is so poor and the script is badly organized.
This episode is far better at establishing events than the feature film. For a thorough and readable description of Market Garden, read the heartbreaking "A Bridge Too Far."